


The Tomb of Ares

by Mr_Bilinski



Category: Xena: Warrior Princess
Genre: Akemi is a dirty schemer, Chakram Origins, F/F, Post-A Friend In Need, Xena had to stay dead not trapped in Jappa
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-03
Updated: 2015-06-03
Packaged: 2018-04-02 16:13:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4066354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mr_Bilinski/pseuds/Mr_Bilinski
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gabrielle has finally settled down in Potidaea after many years of carrying on the Warrior Princess legacy with her soulmate's spirit by her side. When news reaches home that the Messenger of Eli has been taken hostage by a band of marauders, Gabrielle and Xena set out to save their daughter, who has been given a new message from the Archangel Michael.</p><p>Post-FIN</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Tomb of Ares

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In a time of ancient gods, warlords, and kings, a land in turmoil cried out for a hero. She was Xena, a mighty princess forged in the heat of battle. 

Her courage changed the world.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The gentle winds blew through the town as if Mother Nature herself was breathing a sigh of contentment. The old weather pane on top of the house shifted directions with the wind, emitting a slight creaking sound as it did so. In front of the house stood a woman with shoulder length blonde hair, her green eyes scanning the house with a look of sadness and longing.

Releasing a breath she hadn't even known she'd been holding, she reached out a shaky hand and gently pushed the wooden gate open before walking through it. Her eyes remained locked on the house as she approached it, more memories flooding into her mind the closer she got. She paused in front of the door, letting out a quiet, shaky breath as she rested the palm of her hand against the wooden door.

"We don't have to stay here if you don't want to," said a familiarly gentle voice from beside her.

She inhaled sharply and closed her eyes as her right hand reached up to brush the blade of the chakram that rested on her hip with her fingertips. Everytime she spoke to her she touched the chakram, as if it were an extension of her fallen companion. In many ways, it was. 

"I want to," she replied in almost a whisper.

"But can you?" the voice asked, "Gabrielle, no one would blame you if you couldn't handle it."

Gabrielle shook her head, "It's not about shame, Xena." She dropped her hand from the chakram before she turned to look into her friend's eyes. When she spoke again her voice was growing as watery as her eyes, "How can I live here with all of these memories?"

"Gabrielle, you haven't been here since the day we brought Sara back home. It's natural to grieve for the memories you will never experience again."

The bard shook her head again with a sad laugh, "No, I'll be fine; I promise." She looked up at Xena and asked with uncertainty, "Will you be?"

Xena slightly pursed her lips as she offered the blonde a reassuring smile, "Of course; wherever you go, I'll be right beside you. Always."

Gabrielle smiled and gave a happy 'hm', "I knew you'd say that." She then jerked her head toward the door, "Come on, we've got some nesting to do."

 

~~~~~~~~~~~10 Summers Ago~~~~~~~~~~

 

The village within the walls looked more like a giant pillar of flames and smoke than a group of houses. Screaming women and children ran through the streets trying to avoid the onslaught of arrows, jumping over the bloody bodies of their fallen kinsmen.

The ruthless men, all covered in blood and grime, smiled sadistically as they submitted to their inherent lust for blood and rage. One of them reached out for the wailing woman as she ran past him and pulled her to him, stabbing his dagger into her flank. She let out a wet and pained moan as the man pulled the bloody dagger out of her and pushed her to the ground.

Their leader, a tall burly man clad in leather with short dark hair strolled casually through the village, his hand resting on the pommel of the sword on his hip as he silently appraised the carnage. His brows furrowed in a stern expression, he ordered his men, "Gather the survivors in the square! No one gets out!"

As the men gathered the terrified villagers, the archers all watched from above, arrows already in hand in case someone tried to escape. The leader stood in front of the line of people, the confident smile on his face almost mocking them. 

"Allow me to introduce myself; I am Veracas of Corinth and I am looking for soldiers." After staring each of the villagers in the eye he ordered, "Women and children, front and center!"

The women cried out various pleas for mercy as the brutes carelessly grabbed and shoved all of them and the children into a separate group in front of the men.  
Veracas pulled one of the small children over to him and rested a gentle hand on the frightened boy's shoulder. As soon as he felt his shoulders slightly relax, he violently swept his dagger up and held the blade to the boy's throat. He then looked to the crowd with wide, maddened eyes, "Men of--" he lowered his voice and looked down at the young boy, "What is the name of this village again? I've barbecued so many, I seem to have lost track."

"Arberden, sir." The boy replied meekly.

"Arberden, yes..." Veracas' voice rose again as he turned back to the villagers, "Men of Arberden, I give you two choices! Either you swear your allegiance and join my army...or you will all die. To aid you in making your decision, I will offer you a deal: join us and we will sell your women and children into slavery, keeping whoever doesn't sell for ourselves."

"And if we refuse?" One of the men asked.

Veracas' lips curved into a smile, "If you refuse, we will kill them all right now and force you to watch before we kill you. I'll even let you decide if you prefer them riddled with arrows or stab wounds."

The villager who spoke straightened his posture, "Death offers more freedom than you."

Veracas gave him a dark look, "So be it. Archers, ready!"

The villagers all drew in a collective gasp as they watched the archers that surrounded them ready their bows.

"Aim!"

As they all raised their bows, arrows aiming at the villagers, Veracas raised his arm to signal them. He opened his mouth, ready to give the command when a strange whooshing sound echoed through the air, "What is that?"

A gray blur zoomed over the wall, ricocheted off a stone chimney with a few sparks, and glided in front of the archers, cutting off the arrowheads in the process. Veracas turned his attention away from it as it ricocheted off another wall and through another line of arrowheads, his eyes glaring at the rider galloping into the village.

As the horse slid to a stop, the rider seemed to fly off of the saddle, over the crowd of villagers and somersaulted in midair before she landed in front of Veracas. The blonde woman quickly drew her sword as she gave the man a steely glare before the whooshing drew closer and she snatched the chakram from the air, securing it back by her hip.

"It's the Warrior Princess!" one of his men called from behind the crowd of villagers. Gabrielle smirked as she kept her glare on Veracas and cocked her brow, daring him to make a move.

"Let them go." she calmly ordered.

"And I suppose a little short woman like yourself is going to stop me?"

She nodded once, "You and I both know how this is going to turn out. Drop your weapons and leave."

"Gabrielle, behind you!" Xena called out. Gabrielle quickly spun around and swung her sword, deflecting the approaching arrow toward a burning house.

The bard quickly turned her attention back to Veracas, her green eyes narrowed as her blonde hair swayed in the breeze caused by the nearby fires, "This is your last chance."

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~Present~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

"Xena, I was thinking of hanging a hammock over by the garden," Gabrielle mentioned as she sat down on the grass by the spirit, "Any objections?"

"Not unless you mind possums chewing it into pieces," she replied in a half-joking manner. Gabrielle chuckled as she laid back to rest on the grass, her eyes closed as she smiled contentedly.

"It's great to be home." She opened one of her eyes and peeked over to her friend, her smile faltering only slightly upon seeing the worried expression on her face, "Thinking about Eve again?"

"I'm always thinking about her," Xena rasped quietly, "We haven't heard anything in weeks."

"I'm sure it's nothing to be concerned about, Xena. She's probably just been hard at work with her Messenger duties. It's gotten pretty widespread, if you hadn't noticed."

"Oh, I've noticed." She looked over to Gabrielle and forced a half smile, "You're probably right." She looked back out into the distance.

"She's fine, Xena."

"I hope she is."

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The room was cold, dark and dusty, the air littered with moisture and tension. A guard stood dutifully in the doorway of the room with his back facing the inside. His hand rested on the handle of his sword, ready to draw it at any sign of an unwelcomed guest.

In the back of the room was a small cell, lit by nothing but the only window in the entire room. The brunette woman was kneeling in the center of the cell, her head bowed as she silently prayed.

"Messenger," the archangel Michael addressed as he appeared in the cell. The guard remained as he was, unaware of the visitor.

Eve slowly raised her head, "Archangel..." she replied in a gentle voice, "have you come to answer my prayer for guidance?"

The archangel smiled as he nodded his head, then crouched down in front of the woman, "Your mission is far from fulfilled, Messenger. I have come to give you a new message to deliver."

Eve's brows furrowed in confusion, "But, archangel, I don't understand. How can I deliver this message from a cell?"

Michael smirked as he took her hands into his own, "Our God is taking care of it as we speak. Are you ready for the message?" When Eve bowed her head in submission he smiled, "Excellent."

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The young man, no older than seventeen winters, ran tiredly down the dirt road, his clothes damp and clinging to every inch of his body under the beaming hot afternoon sun. His skin had begun to burn a half hour ago, but the urgency of his message caused him to keep going or fall trying.

When his exhausted brown eyes spotted the house he finally allowed himself to slow down and catch his breath. His dark curls, drenched in sweat like the rest of him, were matted down with a few twigs sticking out from his earlier fall in the woods.

His muscles ached, pleading with him to rest, but he forced himself to ignore it as he approached the house. When he finally reached the door, he managed to knock on it once before he collapsed against it with a loud thud and slid to the ground. He could hear urgent footsteps clap along the wooden floor on the other side of the door before it came open, causing him to fall onto the floor.

"By the gods," Gabrielle uttered as she crouched down and pulled the man's torso off the ground, allowing him to rest against her hands, "You look exhausted; what's going on?"

"I..." the young man croaked. He weakly cleared his throat, "Are you...the Warrior Princess?"

She hated being called that; honestly, she did. Over time, as she carried on Xena's legacy in her memory, she grew to accept that she was seen as her successor, but it still didn't feel right. 

She nodded to him, "Yes, I am."

He breathed a sigh of relief, "I was sent with a message... The Marauders have taken the Messenger of Eli hostage in the town of Trikus and they plan to execute her at dawn."

"What?"

Xena stood behind Gabrielle, unable to be seen by the young man. Her blue eyes widened for a moment before they hardened into a steely glare, "Eve..." She lowered her gaze to Gabrielle, "Who are the Marauders?"

"Who are the Marauders?" Gabrielle repeated to the man for Xena.

"A band of warriors, thugs mostly. They say that they move from town to town, decimating them and slaughtering women and children. Rumor has it they recruit the survivors."

"What are they recruiting for?" she asked.

"Their leader's army."

"Gabrielle, Trikus is half a day's ride from here. If we ride hard we can be there by sundown."

Gabrielle nodded to her before she said to the man, "I'm going to get you some water. Rest here until you can get home. Thank you."

After giving the man water and making sure he would be okay, Gabrielle started preparing her horse to ride out. She saddled him up and patted him affectionately on the neck, "It looks like that week I promised you will have to wait, Peganine."

The horse whinnied in response before Gabrielle mounted her. Once she was settled she turned to Xena, "Ready?"

Xena nodded, "Let's go get my daughter."

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

Eve watched the sun rise through the only window in the room, the fresh sunlight causing her tear streaked face to shimmer. She closed her eyes and basked in what would probably be the last sunrise she would ever see. The whining creak of the metal gate swinging open broke her from her thoughts and pulled her attention to the guard who'd just entered her cell.

The man gave her a cold look before he looked out the window and said nonchalantly, "Beautiful day for an execution."

"I may be the only life you execute today, but you will be executing your souls with me."

The man chortled heartily as he roughly yanked Eve to her feet. He leaned in closer and whispered in her ear, "We executed our souls when we joined this army, girl, so save your sermons. You won't be saving anybody here."

Eve remained silent as the guard led her out if the jail and into the town square. Her eyes widened as they fell upon the tall column surrounded by a pile of wood. They were going to burn her at the stake.

"Xena, look at her." Gabrielle said in shocked tone. "I haven't seen that look on her face since the time she exiled herself to the desert."

Xena watched on in horror as the guards tied her daughter to the column, "She's lost hope." As the guard raised Eve's hands and secured the shackles to the link above her head she added, "Why don't we interrupt their party and let her know we're here?"

Giving her a knowing glance, Gabrielle nodded and stood from the perched position she was in on the tree limb. Luckily, the village of Trikus was built near a few trees, allowing them the perfect vantage point where they couldn't be detected by the Marauders.

As a few of them lit their torches and took their places around the pyre, she grabbed her chakram and judged the distance from the tree to the ground. If she kicked off just right, she should be able to land safely in front of them. The leader of the group slowly raised his arm, signaling for the men to be ready to light the pyre.

"Now, Gabrielle," Xena advised.

Gabrielle raised the chakram and threw it before she kicked off the large branch and somersaulted through the air as she let out a cry the world hadn't heard in the last fourteen years.

 

"ALALALALALALALALALA! SHEEEEEEEEEEEEYAH!!!"


End file.
